The Race Season In Review or How I went from running hurts to "Hey, lets do 70.3s..."

This is for the ones who stand

For the ones who try again

For the ones who need a hand

For the ones who think they can

Comes and Goes (In Waves) - Greg Laswell

My first year racing is over.

There I've said it. The first year in the books and done. I've had to take some time to really think and reflect on not just the past 4 months of racing, but the year in training so far.

I've learned and grown so much this year. Not just as an athlete, but as a person. Let's start with the easy part to talk about, my growth as an athlete. I started training in earnest in February. Shortly after that I found Heather, and begged her to be my Coach. What has a season with Heather gotten me? Let's look at the numbers shall we?

March: 40 minute run: 2.32 miles at a 19:25 average pace with a Zone 3 HR of 155 Avg.

August: 40 minute run: 2.56 miles at a 15:38 average pace with a Zone 2 HR of 147 Avg.

I wanted to compare apples to apples for you. The same amount of time for the run. Let's talk about running in general. In March, that run was killer. It was tough for me to get through. I thought it would never ever EVER end. Now I look at a 40 minute run as a nice easy run outside, no big deal. 

I won't throw around bike numbers. I think the fact that I can go out for an "easy" ride of 25 miles and say I lollygagged the whole ride speaks for itself.

If you want to talk pound for pound? At the end of March I was 187, now at the end of August, I'm 171. 

Ok enough numbers. I'm going to bring my feels out here. If this makes you uncomfortable, I suggest you go to http://xkcd.com for a bit. 

I was so very nervous and unsure of myself at the beginning of the season. I was fully of doubts. Not just about racing, but about myself in general. I'd just come out of a very bad time in my life ('Nuff said on that). My self confidence (never high to begin with) was at an all time low. All I knew is I had to do SOMETHING. I need something to work towards. Something I had never done before. A year ago, I wanted to do sprint triathlons. Nothing more. Just sprints. March this year, I latched on to triathlons and training as a life ring. I quickly realized that I wouldn't be able to do tri's this year, but duathlons were very realistic. 

So I focused on duathlon. 

In the beginning it hurt, it sucked, I thought I was never ever going to be able to finish a race, let alone be competitive. I wanted to be competitive, in the worst way. I despaired, I worried, there was angst and gnashing of teeth. 

Dear New Du/Triers: Let me impart this bit of wisdom. I had a very key thing happen to me when I would get this way. Heather seemed to know when I was low and would send me encouragement or talk me off a ledge. Having this kind of support was VERY important. Get it, I don't care how, but do it.

I had a week away from home and stunted training with work thrown in the mix a couple of weeks before my first race. I was terrified I'd submarined race with that. Again, Heather to the rescue. The few weeks prior to the race, my excitement grew as did my nervousness. I remember the day of the race riding out to the course. I was mentally going over everything in my mind, barely talking to the people who were kind enough to come with me to spectate. 

Then I raced. 

Something happens to me when I race. All the bullshit and asshattery of the world drop away. Any problems I have, real or imagined, drop away. I live in that moment. That next step, the next pedal stroke, the next breath. This is the most incredible feeling for me.

And then I finished the race. I was stunned. I could complete a sprint duathlon! Something was going right for me! Then... I found out I received 3rd in my age group. I was stunned and elated.

The rest of my race season held a lot more surprises for me. Each race I improved. I got strong, faster, more confident. That translated into other parts of my life as well. I noticed I was walking taller, smiling more, happier with who I am and who I was becoming. This was new to me. I actually LIKED myself. Sure, I still had my moments of pure WTFery, but I could laugh them off. A bad day training? That's ok, attack it tomorrow. Bad day in life? No problem, come back at it again. 

My friend Jennifer said it best: Fall Down Seven Times, Get up Eight.

My one wish is that I could share this feeling with everyone. It's such an incredible thing to go through and experience. 

At the end of this season, I completed my first Olympic Length Duathlon in 3 hours and 5 minutes. Good enough for 3rd in my Age Group. A nice bookend to my first season of racing.

This felt DAMN good.

Next year, I'm leaving Duathlon behind for Triathlon and the longer courses. I've planned two Olympic Tri's and two 70.3 Tri's. I'll never be Macca, Crowie or Potts. But I'm still going to do my damndest to chase them down. All I have to do is keep pushing, and I'll be surprised where I end up. And that my friends is what racing has taught me about life.

For my Coach: Heather, thank you. You've been such an incredible influence on my life. You're part coach, part friend, part shrink and you take my oddities in stride. I couldn't have done any of this without you. I'm looking forward to many more races with you, and giving you more entertaining training log entries. One day, I hope we can high five each other on the same race course. Just not on the bike, I'll crash.

Roomie and his instant cheering section: Thank you for all the understanding, getting up early, dealing with my moods and insane schedule. You guys are awesome. Go have some pancakes.

Otter: You're one of those continual sources of encouragement for me. You've made the tough times easier. You're next!

Jennnnnn-AYYYY: You're still an inspiration to me. And you're wicked tall. It's also your chess move.

Turtle: You're just a daily ray of awesome and happy. Thank you.

Amanda: We're still gonna bicker. But I appreciate all the running tips you've shared.

Unicorn: You're still the best lil buddy I have!

To all the others I know I've not mentioned: Thank you all. You've made a huge difference in my race season and life.

Race Report: Presidential Lakes - Grind In The Pines

So, let's get right to it shall we?

1st Run: I took Coach's advice and set my Garmin to auto-lap every half mile. This... was SHEER GENIUS! It worked so well. I was a bit quick off the start, but I think I brought it under control to our target of 10 min/miles fairly quickly. This did leave me in the back of the back, but I stuck to our plan. The first part of the run was over pavement with rolling baby hills. Yes, they did it to me again, they found hills. The 2nd half was over a dirt trail. This was strange for me. The dirt, it kind of sucks the feet a bit and you slide around more than I'm used to. But still, I kept at the target pace and HR. Over all, I thought I nailed this part of the race plan.

T1: Zoom. Quick, easy.

Bike: The bike started off a bit hairy. I had a gaggle of people just lollygagging across the narrow bridge. Like taking up the whole thing. Using the gifted set of lungs I have, I bellowed "ON YOUR LEFT!" and zipped by them. Out on the main course, I settled down and found a gear that worked for me. This bike course was odd. It was billed as flat and fast. One the first leg to the first turn around (we had 3 laps to do) I thought OK, so it's a bit of a false flat, no worries, I can do these. I'll just get a bit of push on the way down. After the turn, I rode for a bit, and look up, and it seemed like I was going up hill again. Every time I looked up, I swear, I was going up hill. How can they find a course that is literally uphill both ways?!

Anyway, I kept my cadence as close to 90 as I could and stayed aero. I hit the water first, and saved some for the tail end of the bike. Hit the gels at 45, 1:15 and 1:45 like planned. At the first turn of lap 2, I switched to the Roctane. After that was gone, went back to the water. This worked out very well.

And no, I didn't puke :P

T2: Flying dismount, jump over the rock, zip boom bang, off on to the run

Run 2: This is where it got interesting. I knew my legs were hammered. So I settled in to a good HR rate and what I thought was a good pace to start to let me legs shake out. The calf cramps went away after the first mile and a half. I had no idea where I was over all, but I was thinking "Stay strong, stay focused, finish hard." So I kept doing my thing. I saw a guy in my AG go buy me at about 3 miles. I thought I was last in my AG, guess not. I decided to make it a race for the cellar. My plan was to keep him in sight, and reel him in slowly. When I saw he was slowing down, I'd increase my cadence a bit to nibble away at his lead. It was working, I was reeling him in. Slowly but surely. I was gaining ground. At the 5k turn around, he saw me and got hip. After that turn it was up hill for a good long way, and I couldn't hang with him. I saw it right away and decided to ease off. We still had 5k to go, maybe he would blow himself up and I could get by him. A bit later, another guy in my AG went by me. He was running strong. At this point, I was hurting. My knees weren't happy and my hips were screaming at me. I ran through a mental checklist (ProTip from Macca, btw) to pull through it: Pace good? HR Good? Breathing ok? Form good? That worked well and I ended up using it several times.

That way back was tough. I was gutting it out, keeping on pace. Grabbing water and gatorade at the water stations and popping a gel on the run as well. I think I picked up my pace a bit at the end when I could see the finish area. There was no sprinting this time, I really did leave it all out on the course.

So, those two guys that past me? It seems I was leading my AG off the bike and onto the run. Ha! :P

So, the tale of the times...

1st Run: 30:54 at a 9:58 avg pace
Bike: 1:23:47 at an avg speed of 18.3 mph
2nd Run: 1:09:07 with an avg pace of 11:09
Overall Time: 3:05, which did get me on the podium in 3rd in my Age Group.

This was a nice way to end the season. I learned so much this year about race, training, and myself. I thought Duathlons would be a bit....easier... than Triathlons for some reason. Not. True. Du's are VERY hard. They are leg killers and you really have to dig deep on that last run.

That being said, I'm looking forward to next race season, where I'm focusing on Triathalons. Specifically two Olympic Distances and two IM 70.3s.

Now... if I can just someone to help me stand up out of this chair, please?

Vincentown Duathlon Race Report

"There's no sensation to compare with this 

Suspended animation - a state of bliss"

Pink Floyd - "Learning To Fly"

This was a very special race for me today, for two reasons. The first being that this is my last sprint duathlon of this season. Hard to believe it. Today's theme song, quoted above, really summed up my feelings this morning. I'm learning to run and to bike. Soon to swim. The finish after a tough race? That feeling is incomparable. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Welcome to July! Holy hot hot heat Batman! At start time, the temp was already 80 and climbing. This course was my longest yet at a two mile run, 15 mile bike and a 5k run. Most of the course was on country roads, that were in good shape, with little shade. This DID play a factor. That sun was merciless.

Pre-race: We got there at a bit after 6:30am. Plenty of time to stake out a sweet transition spot. I found a great little spot and quickly set up. This is now a science for me, and it goes pretty smoothly. How ever, before I even got into the transition area, my coach and pro triathlete Heather Leiggi was there! This was the first time I had met Heather face to face in five months of training and racing. To say I was excited is an understatement! She was also kind enough to hook me up with a SWEET Zoot visor for the run today. This was clutch as the temps continued to climb.

Coach and I talking race strategy

As I was setting up transition, a bunch of Team TRIumph members came over and introduced themselves. We had a pretty good turn out for the race, including our Team Pres. Ryan. After some meeting and greeting (the first time I met a lot of these awesome folk), I chatted with Heather and Jason. Then Heather and I got down to race planning. Again, we were going to go with the same plan we had last race, hard first run, good solid bike, and then try to get my second run faster.

First Run - 2 Miles- I lined up at the starting line, putting myself about mid pack. This was a much bigger field it seemed. I saw Ryan up front on the line. His back would be a familiar sight today. That cat is just fast!

Yes, he's THAT fast

At the horn, we took off. There was a slight uphill we had to run which wasn't bad at all. The pack started to stretch out quickly. At some point I got boxed in by a two women who just wouldn't pass each other. I heard someone say "someone has got to pass..." So I spoke up to the ladies "On your left and right!" and accelerated past them. Please people, I get that you want to run with your friends. But at the start of the race, don't hog the whole running lane.

I caught up with fellow TTer Angel and we paced each other. How in the hell that woman can chatter on the run like that is beyond me. I was feeling a bit tired but strong still. I chalked it up to the heat. We kept each other company to the end of the first mile at the turn around, when I heard "7:28, 7:29, 7:30..."

Holy Balls. a 7:30 mile?! No wonder I was feeling a bit sluggish. 

Excuse me sir, you said How Fast?

But I kept up with Angel for another 400 meters or so. After that I told her I was dropping back and she wished me luck, and accelerated away to catch another girl infront of us. I settled down to a more reasonable pace, about 8:45 I think. 

The rest of that run, I felt fairly good. I was winded though and I could feel the legs getting unhappy. Coming back into T1, Heather was there yelling for me and telling me what a good run I had! My response? "Hey Coach! I didn't puke!!" Classy, that's me, all the way.

T1 - A bit slow today. I changed gear ok and got to going. Running in the bike shoes was a bit dicey as there was a sharp left hand turn coming out of transition that had me slide a bit. However, unlike last race, I mounted good and quick, got clipped in quickly and set off to get some redemption.

Me - Demonstrating my best side for the camera

The Bike - 15 miles (two loops)

Right away, I started making passes. This always feels awesome. I was down on my aero's quickly and my cadence was up to the mid 80's easily. I settled in for a nice long bike ride. There isn't a whole lot to really describe about this course. It was flat, and fast. I made passes, people on Tri-bikes zipped passed me. Over all, it was a good ride. I'm still very happy with it. 

As I got closer to T2, I took my feet out of the shoes, and got ready to dismount, I kept my speed up until the last 10 meters and hit the brakes just enough to get a good flying dismount. I love those.

T2 - SOMEONE STOLE MY SPOT! Shoes changed, off to the run. Bastard.

Run Two - 5k. SUFFERFEST. It was hot by then. I was slower than I wanted. I could feel it right off. I was grabbing water at every water station. Mostly to dump on my head and grab a few sips. Thank GOD for that visor. It kept most of the sweat out of my eyes, and the sun off my face. Having run such a fast run leg at the start, I could tell I didn't have much left in the tank at all. This was a contest of pure stubbornness. Me vs. Miles. I'd be damned if the miles were going to win. So I kept plodding. In the shade, in the sun. Mostly in the sun. As the meters ticked away, I could feel the sun zapping me more and more. Still. Not. Stopping. 

Finally, the finish line is in sight. I empty my tank out trying to finish strong. With the running form of a jellyfish.

Results:

A tough race. No hardware, but a new PR for fastest mile. 7th in my AG and 46th out of 70 over all. Total time: 1:41:09. I'm still happy with this race. I think this was my best race of the year. The conditions were tough, the field tougher. Still, I held on and got a solid mid field finish. 

As for having my coach there, how was that? Let me explain. No.. there is to much, let me sum up:

Having Heather there was awesome. Just the fact a Pro was out at a tiny local race? Unreal. That she was cheering for me?! OMGWTFBBQ A FUCKING PRO TRIATHLETE WAS CHEERING FOR ME AND CALLED MY NAME!!!!!!!!

Now, on to my A race in August. An Olympic Distance Duathlon: 5k run, 40k bike and a 10k run. In August heat.

God I love this sport.

Stafford Sprint Duathlon: The Bridge

"I knew the moment had arrived

For killing the past and coming back to life"

Pink Floyd - "Coming Back To Life"

The 2nd Annual Stafford Tri/Du/Aqua has a new twist this year. The bike course had changed to include and out and back over the Manahawkin Bay Bridge. Once I saw this, I knew I HAD to race this course. It was a bit shorter than Hammonton with the bike leg being only 11.something miles. But I wasn't going to quibble. It was The Bridge! 

This was also my first travel race. Manahawkin is about an hour drive from where I live. Combined with the 7am start time, I decided it would be smarted to be closer. So I booked a hotel down the road in Atlantic City. And I can say this is the first time I've ever been to AC, and not spent it out and about involved in shenanigans. I was a complete good boy - stop snickering, I was! 

Woof Mother Effer. Woof.

Anyway, packet pick up was at the transition site at 4pm, we bounced up the Garden State Parkway, and got my packet. Only they didn't give me any pins for my bib, or a strap for my timing chip. Zoinks. No problem, that was taken care of in the morning. So back to the hotel room, the gaggle went out to do what ever my gaggle does, I ate some dinner I brought with me and settled down to relax.

I had planned to go to bed at 8pm and I tried. The idiots across the hall were up all night being loud, so I didn't get a good nights sleep, and work up with a sore neck. I was a bit unhappy this.

Me - in the morning.

Made it to the race area, and I staked out a sweet transition spot. Three rows in from the bike out, and at the end of the 2nd or 3rd rack. Sweet! No more looking for my bike, let's eat pizza. A bit of warming up, the pre race brief and we went racing!

So, here's how it all went down:

1st run: This was a small Du crowd. Maybe 30 of us if that? I saw one of my fellow AGers and made a mental judgement that he was going to be one of the people I aimed to keep in my sights. I positioned myself about mid-gaggle. At the gun/horn I kept myself midpack, keeping my target in sight. I made some passes and got zoomed a couple of times, I didn't sweat it. I just aimed at keeping in the mid pack area. The field started to spread out as the inital burst of speed wore off and everyone settled into their pace. Still had my target in eyesight. 

I see you...

Made a right turn, and found myself faced with a hill. My first thought was "Where in the hell did they find a hill in freaking New Jersey?!" 

But I leaned into it and powered up it, making a few passes. So far so good. I'm working hard, and my Garmin is showing that I'm running way quicker than Hammonton. I don't sweat it, I know I made gains, lets see what I gained. Around the turn and back down the course. I was starting to hurt a bit here, and I think my pace dropped. The rest of this run was me just keeping forward momentum, holding a steady pace and looking forward to T1. 

I'm Keith Effing Richards!

T1: Found my bike no problem. Off came the running shoes, on went the bike shoes, and then the brain bucket. Dashing out of T1 I went. MUCH quicker than last races T1 at something like :51 seconds.

Orale vato!

The Bike: I had been looking forward to this bike course because of it's signature feature: The Bridge. Before the bridge was a lot of nice flat country contested country roads. I made a bunch of passes, staying in aero and aimed to keep my cadence 80-85ish. A couple of sharp turns had us slowing down, especially after the local PD's warning about them. 

This was NOT what we wanted to happen

I felt pretty good, took on some water and kept spinning. I did notice I spun more this race than last race, I think. Finally on to the bridge. They had closed down one whole lane for us in both directions. Outbound we were in the right lane. The bridge has two hallmark features. Baby Hill and Momma Hill. Baby Hill wasn't a problem, I was able to stay in aero and get up it. Momma Hill, that's a different story. She is mean. About 3/4 of the way up it, I was in my granny gear spinning for all I was worth. This is also where I did puke a bit. 

I noticed my stomach was "sloshy" but ignored it. Kept hammering while I puked, grabbed some water and kept going. Coach did say it was ok to puke, just don't stop. Got some speed rolling off of Big Momma, tucked into aero and gave the legs a break by only pedaling occassionaly. Made the turn and headed back in, again to face Momma Hill. The second time she wasn't as bad, I was able to handle her easier. I think with out Baby Hill, things went better. Rolled off Big Momma again, grabbing some more speed that carried me over Baby Hill and into the turn back on the country roads.

Where I slammed on my breaks because that turn IS washed out and VERY bumpy. Got through that turn and even made a few passes. Kept heading back and I could feel my lower ribs aching and my legs letting me know I was crazy. I thought for sure I flamed out. I pushed the pain and the thought aways and kept going. 

In case you are wondering, there is NO shame in getting passed by a 72 year old on a TT. 

Did a flying dismount and into T2 I went.

T2: Quick bike rack, changed gear and took a second to grab a bit of water and dump it down my back. 

2nd Run: This is run and I are never going to be friends. I was hurting. My left calf was cramping, my hip flexor screaming at me. I just decided to out stubborn it, and kept running (no stopping!). Grabbed some water from a couple of the water stations. Made the turn, looked at the time and said "crap, I can be sub 1:30" so I kept going. After the 5k turn it was a long false flat, that turned into a nice down hill. I let gravity help me. Kept going and finding a bit of extra speed I think after the first half of the 5k. Made the turn into the park and once I saw the finish line, emptied out the tank.

Official Race Time: 1:25:12. 11 minutes off Hammonton. No hardware, but  progress is more important. 

Over all, I'm VERY happy with this race. I hope the gains keep coming.

It's a head game of me vs me.

"It's no surprise to me, I am my own worst enemy

'Cause every now and then, I kick the living shit out of me"

Lit - "Own Worst Enemy"

If you've been around for a while, you'll notice that most of my posts start with some lyrics. Today, I'd like to blather on specifically about the lyrics above.

One of my oldest friends for years said that this was my theme song. And it was true. I was my own worst enemy. I would constantly sabotage myself. For most of my life, I never thought I was good enough, smart enough, attractive enough. blah blah blah, you get the gist.

A fairly good description of my life before

Since I've started training in earnest, something interesting has happened. I'm might not be as smart as some, or as good looking as others. There isn't a damn thing wrong with that. Every day, I'm out there doing the work to get better at my sport. I don't skip workouts. I try to put my all into ever interval, mile, set and session. Sure I might still have some extra insulation from winter around my middle. I might not have Macca's confidence, Pott's speed, or Wurtle's awesome race reports. But I have something just as important. For the first time in ever, I believe in me.

In the past, had someone mocked my efforts at something, no matter how friendly, I would have just smiled along and laughed. Not so anymore. Now if a smart ass comment is made, my first response is: "Screw you pal. I don't see you out here doing the work day after day. You wanna mock? Get your ass out here with me. Until then STFU and go eat another freakin donut."

Truth be told... who doesn't like sprinkles?

I get defensive over this. I'm big enough to admit it. Some might say "it's just a sport, a thing you do for fun." Wrong answer. This is more than just a sport. It's my lifestyle. This sport in just the first few months has gotten me through some incredibly rough times, and good times. No matter what has gone right or wrong in my life, it's still there, waiting for me to participate in it. Not just the races, but the days of working out for the races. The long endurance rides/runs, the intervals, the speed work. The throbbing in my core when I'm pushing so hard that it feels like I'm on the edge of losing it. It's always there. 

I'm no longer my own worst enemy. I'm not working against myself. I'm not setting myself up to fail any more. 

I'm a friend to me now. I believe in myself. And that, dear friends, is the greatest gift this sport has given me. And no one can ever take that away from me.

Random Catch Up

I used to roll the dice

Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes

Coldplay - "Viva La Vida"

So much has been going on it seems lately, I've been lacking in keeping up with my weekly babbling here. So let's catch up. In our last episode, I had just riden the Manayunk Wall and survived. I thought life was pretty damn sweet at that point.

A few days later, I woke up to find an email awaiting my greedy little eyes. I think I must have read it 5 or 500 times before I realized that: A) I read it correctly and B) It wasn't a joke. What was this email you might ask? I was informed by USAT that I had qualified for this:

To quote Coach: "Hellz Yeah!"

Holy. Crap. I did WHAT?! Coach and I shot back a flurry of emails and decided to scrub my fall Sprint Triathlon and do this instead. Then the next question, Long or Short (That's what she said?)? Coach said she was on the fence and asked what I thought. I'm not one to dream small. I said "Let's go big, or go home!" So the long course it is! I'm really stoked about this course and it's in Tucson. I think my August race will be a great preview of it for me, since it is longer than Nationals 5k run, 35k bike, 5k run.

The above dovetails into my latest gear purchase, which you know happens almost weekly. This time, I  decided to go for finishing up my major bike upgrades. So, I present to you a road bike ready for Tri/Du's:

Sexy ain't it?

What did I do right after I got these installed? Why bike interval work of course! With the addition of the aero's and the refitting, I'm definitely in a different geometry on my bike. I'm able to generate more speed/power than before with less effort. This does NOT suck. So far, last week was full of win!

Make it so!

Friday called for rain, thank you tropical storm what's her name. So, on the way home, I got a nifty Cycle-Ops Mag trainer to so my bike work on. Holy Crap. Let me tell you right now, trainer rides are hard. There is none of this coasting for free energy. There are no down hills. No curves to slow down around. It's pure man vs machine for about 75 minutes of sprint interval work. This was awesome (related: I've been told my definition of the word awesome might scare some people).

The next day, I went out for a 90 minute ride. Something was wrong with my back tire. Then, I heard it. A high pitched sound. Next thing I know... POW! The back tire blew. Luckily I had a spare tube and plenty of CO2 with me. Off came the tire, and I got to work. In fairly short time, I got the new tube on and was off and going again. Maybe a half mile later, I almost wiped out making a small adjustment turn. WTF? I pull over to check my bike. My front was slowly leaking. 

Not. One. Bit.

The roomie was with me, so he rode back to the house to fetch the car. The next day, I got more tubes and fixed the flat. After washing the bike I headed out for my hour ride. But my bike, she was not happy. She kept trying to tell me something was wrong. Gears shifting on their own, the balance super wobbly, just flat out refusing to go fast.

Still. Not. Amused.

So yesterday, I took her to get checked out. The awesome wrenches at D and Q adjusted the cables, breaks, and found I had put my front wheel on just every so slightly not all the way in. This caused the wobbliness. WHEW!

And to end it all on a good note, I got my Team TRIumph race top in.

Legit?

So now dear friends... I'm a week and change out from my next race. Stay tuned as the Taper Crazies beset me again!

I hit The Wall, and it hit back!

Today, I climbed The Wall. Which is different that what I normally do, drive people up a wall. For those of you who don't know what The Wall is, let me explain.

The Wall is a half mile of pure lung burning, leg killing, test what you're made of, 17% grade, hill climbing. I really don't think I'm over playing this. The Wall is THE defining feature of the Philly Cycling Classic Race. If the Pro's respect it, you're damn straight I'm going to be in awe of it.

So with out further ado, and with no further gilding the lily, I present you with my Not A Race Report Ride Report of the Philly Cycling Classic Bicycling Open. In which me and 300 of my closest lycra clad friends got the chance to ride the Philly Cycling Classic professional course. The course was complete with a pace car (which we were not allowed to pass, not that I ever saw it), blocked off streets (thank you Philly PD for being so awesome and friendly today!), cheering fans and of course plenty of cow bell.

You knew this was coming, right?

I had opted to pick up my "race" packet the day of the ride. Normally, I like to get it ahead of time, but Saturday was just to busy with work, my scheduled work out, getting a new tattoo, and the most important part of my life these days: Eating. So it was a 4 am wake up for me, to get ready and be out the door by 5:15. I thought it would take about 45 minutes to get from where I live to Manayunk, going by the tried and true Philly Rule: 45 Minutes to Everywhere. But with no traffic, I arrived at about 5:45 or so. Plenty of time to unload the bike, do a last minute check, and get into my shoes. Getting there early paid off as the line got big quickly.

Colorful jerseys and bikes. I love cycling.

There were three packages available to register for: The Pack, The Chase and The Breakaway. I opted for the Breakaway package, in which I got a swag bag, T-shirt  cycling jersey, a food certificate for a local eatery and access to prime seating to watch the races after I was done.

Pros were mere inches from me.

We had a different start finish line than the pros, which made sense. If you didn't make it back to the start finish before the cut off, you weren't allowed to attempt a second lap. As the time to start got closer, we all queued up at the start/finish line to start our attack on The Wall.

The Pelaton/Bunch/Gaggle

After the National Anthem, which I thought was a really class move by the organizers, we were off! The start was oh so very slow. No dashing that I saw. Just us more meandering across the start line, out of the parking lot on the street. Which made for some VERY chaotic riding. There was a lot of weaving and dodging and keeping your head on a swivel as we made our decent onto Main St. in Manayunk. Of course I grabbed some tall gears, grabbed my horns and went for the speed. I can't help it, I love going fast. After about a mile of fairly straight roads, there was a couple of quick turns to the left and a bit of cobblestone road under a train bridge. This was the landmark I had been looking for. The Wall loomed infront of me.

The Wall on a normal day.

As I started my climb, I started dropping gears. My plan for The Wall was simple. I was going to just spin my easiest gear up it and hope for the best. There is NO shame in using the granny gear today. The sound I heard around me as I was changing gears gave proof that I had the right idea. The chorus of bikes dropping gears was a rising crescendo. A fellow next to me heard me drop a gear and commented: "Oh yeah, there's that sound!"

I got about about 75 maybe 90 meters into the wall, when I tried to go into my easiest gear. Noticed I said "tried." I was already there. I was out of gears already. An F-bomb may or may not have been uttered here. 

These signs should have been on The Wall today.

Some how, I made it up the first half of The Wall to a small little flat portion. Then the really steep part started. Holy. Shit. As I looked up at this monster in front of me, I might have whimpered a tiny bit. Actually I know I did. But, I wasn't going to throw in the towel yet! Onward up The Wall I went!

I stood up and hammered. I sat back and spun, I weaved a bit, I zigged and I zagged avoiding other riders. The burning in my legs was unheard of. I was panting harder than a 200 pound bulldog in the August heat. Cowbells rung, people cheered us on, screaming at us to dig deep, go hard, don't quit. Chains broke, tires flatted, riders gave in and walked their bike up the wall. Still I pressed on. At the 100 meter sign, I stood up and hammered hard again, muttering at my legs to shut the hell up and go. People cheered harder as I stood up and hammered. Onward I went. The pain must have been etched on my face, the suffering was unreal. Up, Up and Up I went. Legs screaming, heart thudding, lungs burning like the air was molten lava, still I would NOT let The Wall beat me. I was tougher and more stubborn than it! 

Then I looked up. I saw the Official Start Finish line. 

Victory was mine!

Not just content to have climbed the wall, I grabbed a few gears and start down the above stretch into a sharp right hand turn.

Only to find another hill.

Crap. 

I got mad. How DARE they put another hill right here after that unreal monster?! Who was the sadistic bastard who designed this course! I stood out of my saddle and hammered up. 

Then, the Cycling Gods smiled upon me. I started the Fall From The Wall. A pure mile of straight down hill. I pimped the hell out of that big ring, grabbed the biggest gear I could and hauled ass down. I joined up on someone else's wheel and off we went! 

This was the most exciting ride of my life! We were low on the handle bars mashing for all where were worth. All of a sudden, we couldn't pedal fast enough to add anything to our speed. The lead went off his saddle and tucked behind it in an aero form. I followed suite. We were zipping down, passing riders. Cheers a fading blur as we flew down topping out at a screaming 36.7 mph. Screaming for me at any rate. At the end of The Fall, there was a right hand turn. We saw it coming up, and saved our braking until the last possible moment. I think my brakes literally smoked as I applied them. Through the turns we went and off to the rest of the course. 

The rest of the course fairly straight and flat. Except for two exceptions. Strawberry Hill and Lemon Hill. I'll be honest, I don't remember much of Strawberry Hill, so I couldn't have suffered to much on it. After that, I fell in with a couple of guys who let me ride their back wheel for a bit. This was awesome, it gave my legs a chance to recover. I offered to pull them for a bit, being the polite cyclist I am. I took the lead and set the pace, around a turn I went!

Who the Hell put Lemon Hill here?!

I literally yelled that, to the amusement of my riding group and the Philly PD who were there. 

Crap. Back down into the small ring and time to spin up. I didn't look back for the guys I was pulling until after I rage spun up the hill. I hate hills. I love hills. I hate and love them. The descent off Lemon Hill is short and at the end is a 90 degree right hand turn onto the straightaway that would lead me for about 3-4 miles back to my finish line. And of course, guess who came into that turn hot? Thank God it was a two lane road as I apexed the corner and shot out into the left hand lane. 

Time to grab more gears! I spun for all I was worth. Pushing the hard, wanting to go fast. Sweat was dripping and being blown off me. I was on my horns generating 1.21 Gigawatts of power (had I hit 88 mph, I would have gone Back...To The Future!). Ok maybe not that much power. I was working hard though. I was starting to tire out. I pulled to the right to let others pass me by.

So it seems I was pulling a whole pace line of about 15 people. That's right. You heard me. I pulled them for about a mile or so. Bad Assery. Rawr!

I was so happy to jump on the last wheel and benefit from the slip stream. The pace line held until the last mile or so from the finish line, then it was every man for himself. I broke left and pulled up next to the guy who I was drafting and told him to jump on my wheel. I grabbed a few gears, stood up for a minute and shot off after the pace line leader.

Just call me the Big Ring Pimp Daddy. 

In the end, I didn't catch him, but it didn't matter. 

We came flying into the finish line, sweat pouring from us all. as we crossed the timing mats, we pulled off to the side and pulled deeply from our water bottles. Handshakes were given and received, names exchanged and "Good Job" "Awesome Ride" "Way to work" were the popular phrases.

At the end of the circuit, I had conquered the wall, gone faster than I ever had before, and proved to myself that maybe, just maybe, these old legs of mine have some life in them yet.

Next year, I'm aiming for two laps.

I am a Duathlete

It's official. I am a Duathlete.

This is freaking awesome. I can even begin to express how it feels to me. It's more than the sense of accomplishment from finishing a race that two months ago I was wondering if I was ready for. It's more than taking home Age Group Honors. It's more than hearing people cheer as I crossed the line.

This is proof that I am have started my journey to Ironman. There I said it. I've taken my first step. I've got momentum started. To me, that feels incredibly great. This is possibly the most important journey of self discovery I've ever undertaken.

I've had a few days to replay the race one or two (billion) times in my head, talk it over with Coach and pour over the data. As I've done this, I've noticed my goals changing, and my targets for this year shifting.

As I reviewed my first run, I was pleased with what I saw. My race plan called for me to do the first run at about a 12 minute/mile pace. This most definitely did not happen. The first mile at 8:45 and the second at around 8:53 opened up my eyes. I knew I had speed over short distances (short as in under 400 meters). To be able to hold this pace for two miles was a huge leap forward for me. I read back in my blog and saw how excited I was to hit a 12 minute mile pace. This totally blows that out of the water, all in really three months of consistant training.

Playing through the bike in my head, and looking at the times for it, I wanted to be a bit faster. But I had some weather to deal with. Tail winds on the out leg helped, but the cross winds and head winds on the in leg were hard. Still over all, I had a good speed of about 16.5 mph for the bike portion. Not blazing fast compared to some. But I've had my bike for just over a month. The shoes and pedals for less than. Before I had my bike, I was training on a stationary bike in the gym. Being able to make key passes early and late after such little road time really showed me how far I've come in such a short time.

Then there was that dreaded last 5k run. I had to really dig deep for that. Not to finish it, but to keep pushing myself to finish it running without walking. It took some effort to shove the pain in my left hammy to a corner of my mind and keep it there. That was the first time I had experienced something like that. Now I know I can deal with it, and I learned that I can push through it to find that other side. What's more, I kept a good (for me) pace of 10min/mile or so. Again, where I was three months ago and where I was during the race is incredible to me.

I honestly know I couldn't have made these gains without my Coach, Heather. It was her training plan that's brought me from injury prone at the beginning to where I am now. And standing here, four days later, I see that I have a lot of work to do still. Oh yes dear friends. I have a lot of work to do.

I'm still not a strong runner. Running is still my weakest event and it takes work for me to do it. Still, I'm getting more comfortable with the run. By the end of my race season, my goal is to get my pace sub 8's. I think this is doable. I know I can get strong and faster and gain more endurance.

Ah the bike, what I feel is my strongest event. I'm looking forward to improvement here as well. I'm feeling more comfortable on the bike each time I get on it. I think aerobars will help me out, as I generate more power with less effort when I'm down on the horns. For the bike, my goal is to have an average speed in the low 20's this season. Again, I think this is very doable from where I'm sitting now.

Race wise, always room for metric tons of improvement. I'll keep this goal short and sweet. I'm shooting for a top 25% over all finish in my A race in August.

So I have a lot of work to do, and I'm looking forward to each session and the benefits I'll gain from Heather's planning, her experience and her advice.

She even said it's ok for me to use Ducky Floats during swim training. If I provide pictures.

Hammonton Sprint Duathlon Race Report

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity

To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment

Would you capture it or just let it slip?

-Eminem "Lose Yourself"

1st Run: I tried to go slow, I really did. I was aiming for the target pace. I don't know what happened. I did have a tail wind on the first mile. I saw my pace time and I was thought "crap, I'm going to burn my legs out!" But the legs felts awesome. I decided to go with the flow on it. Made the turn around and came back. I saw the first of the Tri's on the bike on the way back going past me. I was working hard that last mile or so and wanting to get on the bike to rest the legs.

This is where my legs lived today

T1: Into T1 I went. Found my bike, two racks after the 2nd tree on the left. Grabbed some water from the water bottle I had there. Changed shoes no problem, got the helmet and gloves on, took off the pull over, and ran to the mount point. Jumped on and took off. I had a bit of a problem getting my 2nd foot clipped in. But eventually it locked in. I was off and biking!

Bike: The first leg of the bike went pretty well. Because of the wind, I decided to stay on the horns as much as I could. Right away, I made about 10 passes and felt like Macca. 

Only I don't have a TT, and this wasn't Kona. Or a Triathlon.

The tail wind helped. Anyway, I kept making passes on the way out there. I had a couple of people pass me, but I let them have it and saved the legs. There were a couple of hills I hammered up. I did get passed by a tiny itty bit lady on a TT. 

Ok she wasn't this small. But her bike WAS this color. 

Around the turn, grabbed another gear and hammered it to get up to speed. Oooph. Head wind. And gusting cross wind. I made a couple more passes and caught up to the itty bitty lady on the TT and passed her. I couldn't make it stick. We kept leap frogging each other the most of the way back. I was very careful to stay out of the drafting zone, but was content to let her set the pace so I could give the legs more rest. At 45 mins, I popped a GU. I was worried with that fast run and fast 1st bike leg, I was gonna bonk. 

About 2 miles or so from the T2, Itty Bitty Girl and I were going up a hill that was the overpass to the Turnpike. She slowed down, which put me in the draft zone. So I muttered a four letter word, grabbed another gear, stood in the saddle and hammed up the hill. I made this pass stick and that was the last I saw of her on the bike. I biked back to T2 with no problems, having a bit of fun getting low and fast on the bike down hills. 

Yee-effing-haw

The turn into T2, I unstrapped my shoes and then did a flying dismount from the bike and ran back to the rack. Grabbed my shoes, ditched the helmet and gloves, grabbed some more water and popped another GU for the 5k.

My cheering section was there, which is an awesome feeling. THere was a bit of banter with one of them as I ran out of T2 to the final run.

2nd Run: I was hurting. I noticed on the bike the hamstring of my left leg was starting to ache. But I remembered what Macca said: "What do I do when the pain comes? I smile." That exactly what I did on the bike and on the run. This run's pace was much slower, but I'm still pretty happy with it. It was a pretty uneventful run other than that hamstring hurting the whole way. Ran out to the turn around, told the volunteer I was I thought they said "5k RUM not run!" waved and headed back. The last 100 meters or so I saw the finish line, had some gas left in the tank, and sprinted for it. 

Official Time: 1:36:26 - 3rd Place for my age group.

Things I learned:

I have some speed! I didn't know this. Both the 1st run was a PR and I think the 2nd one might have been as well.

The bike: I'm much more effect on the horns than on the hoods. I seem to have an easier time with generating power when I need it.

Cold weather sucks. Nuff said.

File This Idea Under: "Epically Awesome" or "Possibly The Dumbest Thing Ever"

This is The Manayunk Wall.

This entry is not about my race on Saturday. Oh, don't worry, it's very much on my mind. I'm nervous and excited for it. I will dedicate a whole post to it after I'm done, pre and post race report complete with pictures and funny stories.

This post is about something I just did.

Here in Philly, we've a lil burb called Manayunk. It's a cozy little town. Lots of row homes and great places to eat, drink and be merry. It's also played host to cycling races in the past. This year, the race almost didn't happen. However, Parx Casino stepped up and saved it. Race is on!

The race has been renamed to the Philly Cycling Classic. The course has changed but it's signature feature has remained. The Manayunk Wall. What is the Wall you might ask? It's a stretch of road that's 800 meters at a 17% grade. Sounds like a lot of fun to zoom down huh?

Only the race goes UP the Wall. Yes, uphill. This will be amazing!

Us non-pros get a chance to race the course as well in the Bicycle Open. We get 1:15 to do as many laps as we can on the 12 mile course (I think), with the streets blocked off and no traffic. Then after we're done, the Pro Teams will start their race. While I eat breakfast. I like this plan!

Does this count as an endurance ride or a interval ride is my big question?

Wordless Wednesday (NSF-some-W)

Is it Race Day Yet? I can't Stand Me...

Of Pedals, Shoes, Cars and Irony

Bleeding through a tourniquet smile

I spin on a whim slide to the right

Bush - "Machinehead"

Guess who got new pedals and shoes?! That's right, I'm legit. I picked up some Shimano 105 pedals and Bontrager shoes at the local bike(/ski/swim/run) shop. Who also is a sponsor of Team Triumph, of which I'm a member. It was long over due. Using toe clips sucked. Not only that, it was dangerous for me. I spent more time trying to get my right foot in the clip after starting on the road that I should have. Can you say recipe for disaster?

I did NOT cuddle them.. that you can prove.

I did not rush home and install the new pedals on the bike. I actually did something smart. While I was buying these wonderful little toys, I scheduled a Level II fitting. I needed to come back in for my 30 day adjustment anyway, so it seemed like a good idea. So the waiting game began. I got the goodies on a Friday, and had scheduled the fitting for a Tuesday. In hindsight, I would have just brought the bike with me that day, but I'm not always the brightest knife in the shed. So I waited....

And while I waited, I harkened back to a conversation I had with a friend of mine. George and his wife Angie (side note: Angie has a great cycling blog that one should check out: http://www.bikinator.com/ ) are both cyclists. Like hard core and have been for years. George was kind enough to give me a list of things I would need. On that list was getting a Road ID.

What's Road ID you ask? I'm so glad you did. Road ID is a bracelet, shoe tag or dog tag you wear. In it's simplest form, it has your name, an emergency contact name and number and some important medical information on it. The idea is that if you're out running, biking, or walking and something happens, first responders can get the important info right away.

It's a nifty box they send

This is my Road ID. Names of the guilty have been removed, but the rest is as you see it.

So Sunday night, I ordered mine. I've been riding/running with out one, and I thought it would be a good idea to get one. Tuesday comes, and off to get fitted I go. They guys at my LBS are awesome. They dialed in my fitting more with the pedals and gave me as much time as I wanted on the trainer to get used to the feel of the new gear before they unleashed me out into the world. 

Thankfully, it has stopped raining by the time I got back to Geek Central and was able to take Inara (yes I named my bike, what of it?) out for a nice long ride. 

Holy crap, what a difference! I felt so much more efficient when pedaling. They say you feel more connected with your bike with clipless shoes, and it's true. I felt like the crank was an extension of my legs. When I remember not to mash. It is taking me some time to learn how to spin correctly. I have to think about how I'm pedaling a LOT. But that's normal. And I often catch myself paying attention to other things on the bike instead of my pedaling. You know, things like cars, kids, people, other bikes, and was that a jackalope I just saw? Just the normal everyday things.

So I got through my first ride incident free. I was stoked. I had this down, this is great! I remember to unclip my down foot when I started breaking. What was the big deal.

Cue the Universe snickering at me.

Friday, I had a time trial from Coach. I couldn't wait for it. I wanted to see if I gained any speed from the pedals and shoes. I had been wondering about my bike race pace, and Coach Heather said to think about this on the TT. With the old pedals, I was averaging about 4 min/miles. I really wanted to get faster. I was wondering if 3:30 min/miles were realistic with out toasting my legs for that last run leg. 

So off I went! I decided to use my normal riding circuit. I wanted to be familiar with the roads, environment and traffic so I could focus more on the TT than a new circuit. So I headed off there, through the back streets to avoid the Friday afternoon traffic. At a stop sign it happened. The infamous 0 mph crash. I had my down leg down but felt myself tipping. I couldn't get my other foot unclipped in time. As I was going down, I heard myself say "Yup, here it is!" Then I remembered what my twitter buddy Carrie had posted just days before:

To which I replied: If you've not been down, you're going down...

And I went down. I laughed at myself, and counted myself lucky I got the first one out of the way on a non busy street. And I got a nifty battle scare to show for it:

Women still dig scars, right?

Still smiling to myself, I made it to the circuit and started my time trial. I felt really strong and was able to hit my goal of 3:30min/mile often, I even got a 3:20min/mile. To say I was happy with that is an understatement. On the second TT interval, I was coming to the end of it and riding in a nice wide bike lane, coming up to a stop light. I often do the left shoulder glance to see what's behind me. I did notice a car coming up behind me so I moved over to the right a bit more. 

My first clue should have been the horrible rap music that preceded the car. I guess my bright Red bike,  and jersey weren't visible in the day light. Or the kid behind the wheel was just not paying attention. For what ever reason, he drifted into the bike lane.

If you're not a cyclist, you might not know the following. But when on the bike, we can hear cars behind us and we listen for them. All the time. And this car just sounded way to close. I glanced back over my left shoulder again.

It looked like his fender was lined up on my back tire. I moved over even more with what little time I had. As he pulled up even with me, I saw how close he was, it looked like about a foot from me, and tried to get away. Long story short, I went down again on my right side. Thankfully where I went down was grass. The bike and I slid for a bit. After jumping up, I did the logical thing anyone else would do.

Made sure my bike was OK. I have insurance, the bike doesn't. 

The rims got a little scraped up so now there's a bit of rubbing on the brake pads. But other than that, she seems fine.

I pulled over into an empty parking lot, stopped my Garmin (again, that's what any normal person would do, right?) and gave myself the once over for a few minutes. Then it dawned on me. I really could have been smeared. Like in a really bad way. 

I was so VERY glad I had gotten my Road ID that same day. Nothing reenforced the importance of having it on like this incident. So now, I won't EVER take it off. 

If you don't have a Road ID, you should. Right now. Go over to their website and order one: http://www.roadid.com. I'll even give you a coupon code for a $1 off: ThanksChris26140589. Their product is NOT expensive, and it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. 

I did get back on the bike and finish the time trial. I stayed on a street with less traffic, and was still fairly pleased with my times. 

This morning, I climbed back on the bike and did my hour ride, on the wet roads. Nothing like getting back in the saddle to get over the jitters. 

Today, not one wreck.